Love the Work, Hate the Job, by David Kusnet; John Wiley & Sons; 288 pages; $25.95

By Seth Brown, Special for USA TODAY

Unions are good, and cost-cutting management is evil. That seems to be the thesis of David Kusnet's new book, Love the Work, Hate the Job.

Kusnet, a former speechwriter for President Clinton, followed four Seattle companies at the turn of the millennium: Kaiser Aluminum, Boeing, Microsoft and Northwest Hospital. Kusnet talked to workers and chronicled union activities at all four companies.

Kusnet treats protests in 1999 at the World Trade Organization summit in Seattle as a seminal moment for unions. Dissatisfied Seattle workers began speaking out.

"Talking to these workers," Kusnet says, "I couldn't help but reach this conclusion: They love their work — the careers they have chosen, the skills they have learned, the products they make, and the services they provide. But they are beginning to hate their jobs."

Kusnet sees the juxtaposition of workers striving for quality and management focused on short-term profits as an unavoidable source of conflict. The four Seattle firms he studied underscore the point:

• Kaiser Aluminum. Although making aluminum can be hard work, Henry Kaiser made his workers love their jobs by treating them well. He supported unions. He pioneered prepaid health care and child care for workers. He's the Kaiser in Kaiser Permanente.

Unfortunately for workers, after Kaiser died the company was sold to Texas financier Charles Hurwitz. Hurwitz cut costs, and once hired workers willing to cross a picket line during a strike. Strikers voiced quality concerns about the metal produced in their absence. Hurwitz was eventually forced to offer a pay raise to get the workers back.

• Northwest Hospital. The hospital was one of the last non-union health care institutions in Seattle. Former CEO Jim Hart knew all employees by name, gave them Christmas bonuses, and organized morale-raising activities. New management put an end to bonuses, and morale suffered. The hospital hired cost-efficiency consultants who knew nothing about patient care.

Union representatives covertly met with hospital workers in a cemetery next door. The union still has battles, but no longer has to meet in a cemetery.

• Microsoft. Rather than deal with the expense of a large full-time staff, the software giant used thousands of temporary workers. Bill Gates, never complacent with success, insisted that managers keep down the "headcount" of full-time workers. Full-time workers received perks, but temps who did the same work got no benefits.

To avoid paying freelancers and temps as full-time workers, Microsoft insisted that they apply at local temp agencies, so they would be paid by the agencies.

When temps learned Microsoft was eliminating overtime pay, their group (WashTech) began organizing and agitating for change. Microsoft improved benefits.

• Boeing. The planemaker was once held up as a "national champion," enabling America to compete in an international market. In the late 1990s, Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas, but profits began to slip. Unlike previous CEOs who solved problems with product improvements, the leaders from McDonnell Douglas, such as Harry Stonecipher, resorted to cost-cutting.

This was a big change for a company once famed for its dedication to quality regardless of expense. Engineers became frustrated at the unwillingness to invest in comprehensive safety testing. Unionized workers won concessions, but engineers without a union walked off the job and refused to certify aircraft until they were offered health insurance.

It may be hard to sympathize with workers earning $63,000 a year in a tough economy, Kusnet says, but workers want more than money: They want the freedom and resources to do their best work, and they want recognition for doing so.

With many skilled foreign workers coming in on H1-B visas, and many more companies outsourcing to reduce costs, lifetime job security for the average American worker may well be a thing of the past.

Kusnet considers this a sign that the social contract between companies and workers is breaking down.

It may be time for American workers to decide what really matters, and to keep it in mind as they attempt to forge new contracts.

Seth Brown is a freelance writer and the author of Rhode Island Curiosities. His website is www.RisingPun.com

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